Human development professors Anthony Burrow and Anthony Ong found
that Barack Obama's historic election in 2008 changed
African-American college students' perceptions of being black. For
the study, published in Developmental Psychology, the researchers
surveyed more than 300 black undergraduate students on the importance of
race to a person's self-concept (centrality), whether or not they
feel good about being part of their racial group (private regard), and
how they perceive their racial group to be viewed by others (public
regard). The team found increases in all three aspects of racial
identity immediately after the election. "One main message here is
that important race-relevant social or political events can shift the
way individuals think about their race as well as their perception of
how others view their race," Burrow said.